Titanium Foil Research Articles

Low-Cost Synthesis of Cu-Modified Immobilized Nanoporous TiO2 for Photocatalytic Degradation of 1H-Benzotriazole

Cu-modified immobilized nanoporous TiO2 photocatalysts, prepared by electrochemical anodization of titanium foils, were obtained via four different synthesis methods: hydrothermal synthesis, anodization with Cu source, electrodeposition, and spin-coating, using two different copper sources, Cu(NO3)2 and Cu(acac)2. The objective of this research was to investigate how copper modifications can improve the photocatalytic activity of immobilized nanoporous TiO2 under the UV/solar light irradiation. The best photocatalytic performances were obtained for Cu-modifications using spin-coating. Therefore, the effect of irradiated catalyst surface areas on the adsorption of model pollutants, methylene blue (MB) and 1H-benzotriazole (BT), was examined for samples with Cu-modification by the spin-coating technique. The mechanisms responsible for increased degradation of MB and BT at high Cu concentrations (0.25 M and 0.5 M) and decreased degradation at low Cu loadings (0.0625 M and 0.125 M) were explained. 1H-benzotriazole was used to study the photocatalytic activity of the given samples because it is highly toxic and present in most water systems. The characterization of the synthesized Cu-modified photocatalysts in terms of phase composition, crystal structure, and morphology were investigated using X-ray Diffraction, Raman Spectroscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy, and Energy Dispersive X-ray spectroscopy.

Preparation oaf polyaniline/diazonium salt/TiO2 nanotube arrays as supercapacitor electrode by electrochemical grafting and deposition

Polyaniline/diazonium salt/TiO2 nanotube arrays (PANI/DZ/TiO2 NAs), as a supercapacitor electrode material, are fabricated by two-step anodic oxidation of titanium foils, electrochemical grafting and reduction of diazonium salts, and electrochemical deposition of polyaniline. Surface morphology, crystallization, and chemical compositions of nanocomposites are characterized by SEM, EDX, XRD, and Raman. Electrochemical tests indicate that PANI/DZ/TiO2 NAs have excellent capacitance of 1108.5 F g−1 when the current density is 0.6 A g−1. With the current density increasing 20 times to 12 A g−1, the capacitance remains about 77.5%, demonstrating its good rate performance. Moreover, after 2000 charge–discharge cycles at 12 A g−1, the capacitance retains 83.7% of the initial value, showing its good cycling stability.

Experimental study of current loss of a single-hole post-hole convolute on the QG I generator

The post-hole convolute (PHC), which is used to transport and combine the pulse power flux, is a key component in huge pulsed power generators. Current loss at the PHC is a challenging problem for researchers. To explore a method of reducing the current loss, a single-hole PHC was designed for experiments on the current loss on the Qiang Guang I generator. The experimental results showed that the current loss at the single-hole PHC is related to the distance l between the vicinity of the cathode hole and the surface of the downstream side of the post. Meanwhile, a single-hole PHC with a blob cathode hole transmitted current more effectively than the PHC with a circle cathode hole. The relative current loss at the single-hole PHC with the cathode coated with gold foil was about 30%–50% of that with the cathode coated with nickel and titanium foil. The gap closing speed was also obtained from the current waveforms in the experiments. The speed was 5.74–14.52 cm μs−1 which was different from the classical plasma expansion velocity of 3 cm μs−1.

Energy depth distribution of pulsed electron beam with wide electron kinetic energy spectrum for an aluminum target

Knowledges of pulsed electron beam characteristics is necessary for use it for scientific and practice applications. Current work analyses the pulsed electron beam extracted from the vacuum diode through a titanium foil (60 mkm) of the diode exit window. Electron beam energy depth distribution was measured for a target made of different number of aluminum foils. A pulsed electron beam with a wide range of kinetic energies was generated by the ASTRA-M accelerator (260 kV of accelerating voltage, up to 1 kA of beam current, 150 ns of beam pulse duration at FWHM). A calorimeter of total absorption and Faraday cup were used to measure beam characteristics. Calorimeter included two collectors: first one measures a beam energy after aluminum foils, and the second one measures a total beam energy. All measurements were performed at 10−5 Torr background pressure after the exit window foil. As a result, the electron kinetic energy spectrum of the beam out of diode has been reconstructed.

Controlling energy distribution of fast ions and X-ray emission via target reliefs in ultrafast and relativistic laser plasma interaction

Secondary emission from laser produced plasma is governed by the electron distribution function. Therefore, its control is of utmost importance to steer the emission, e.g., of ultrashort bursts of high energy photons and ions for decisive application. Maximum gain is achieved if the laser light absorption by plasma is also maximized. In our theoretical analysis including comparison to recent experiments, we follow this route and study how the energy is transferred from a short laser pulse to the energy of fast ions and X-rays. We make use of ion and K-α emissions, which respond differently to branches of the electron distribution function when we optimize the laser light absorption via structuring of the target surface. Our investigation comprises laser intensities up to 5 × 1020 W/cm2 produced with femtosecond near infrared laser pulses and titanium foil targets of a few micrometer thicknesses. In particular, we reveal an energy relaxation process of hot electrons, which determines the observed laser intensity dependence of secondary emission and points to the benefit of target surface structuring in different optimization scenarios.

Power conversion efficiency (PCE) performance of back-illuminated DSSCs with different Pt catalyst contents at the optimized TiO2 thickness

The Power Conversion Efficiency (PCE) of back illuminated dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) using Titanium Dioxide (TiO2) printed on Titanium foil photo-anode was investigated. It is essential to study the optimum volume of the Platinum (Pt) catalyst solution spin-coated on counter electrode and the TiO2 absorbance layer optimized thickness for optimum light harvesting in a back illuminated structure. In this study, we have concentrated on the optimized 11 μm thick of TiO2 film assembled on the photoanode using Doctor Blade printing method. The 11 μm thick films were tested in a constraint of Platinum contents obtainable from 30 μl, 50 μl and 70 μl volumes of Pt solutions. The same cells were also subjected to front illumination to compare the results. The back illuminated optimization was achieved with the 11 μm TiO2 film thickness which was at PCE = 2.99%, Jsc = 7.83 mA/cm2, Voc = 0.7V, FF = 0.55 with the minimum volume of the Pt solution. From the selected ideal thickness of 11 μm TiO2 film performances of the Fluorine Tin Oxide (FTO) glass as solid state photoanode during back illumination, a similar methodological structure was imposed on Titanium foil based anode cells where the achievement was indicated at PCE = 2.75%, Jsc = 4.62 mA/cm2, Voc = 0.71V, FF = 0.84 for a 70 μl volume of Pt solution. The results show that for a solid state photoanode substrate, 30 μl of Pt solution is sufficient to provide catalytic activities and at the same time allow light penetration to the active region, whereas the flexible photoanode requires a higher concentration of Pt solution for rapid catalytic capabilities.

Enhanced Charge Transfer Process in Morphology Restructured TiO2 Nanotubes via Hydrochloric Acid Assisted One Step In‐Situ Hydrothermal Approach

AbstractIn this study, we demonstrate the enhanced photoelectrochemical (PEC) performance of the titanium foil based TiO2 nanotube (TNT) array through a simple hydrothermal (HT) acid treatment method. The influence of hydrochloric acid (HCl) concentration variation in HT method on morphology and the photoelectrochemical performances of TNTs nanostructures were studied. Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy and X‐ray powder diffraction results confirmed the morphology and crystal structure easily restructured during HCl assisted one step in‐situ hydrothermal approach. The photocurrent density of optimized acid treated TiO2 nanotube (TH‐40) electrode was observed to be 2‐times higher than the pristine TNT electrode. Thereafter, TH‐40 sample exhibited noticeably photoelectrochemical solar hydrogen production of 66 μmol and 82 μmol in NaOH and Na2S/Na2SO3 electrolytes respectively than the pristine TNT. The enhancement of photocatalytic activity was ascribed to the restructured morphology, as well as the efficient charge separation at rutile‐anatase interface in the TH‐40 sample as well as at the electrode‐electrolyte interface. A hydrochloric acid assisted one step in‐situ hydrothermal approach tailors the crystal structure and morphological features, which enhanced the photoelectrochemical properties of TiO2 nanotube.

Laser-driven acceleration of quasi-monoenergetic, near-collimated titanium ions via a transparency-enhanced acceleration scheme

Laser-driven ion acceleration has been an active research area in the past two decades with the prospects of designing novel and compact ion accelerators. Many potential applications in science and industry require high-quality, energetic ion beams with low divergence and narrow energy spread. Intense laser ion acceleration research strives to meet these challenges and may provide high charge state beams, with some successes for carbon and lighter ions. Here we demonstrate the generation of well collimated, quasi-monoenergetic titanium ions with energies ∼145 and 180 MeV in experiments using the high-contrast (<10−9) and high-intensity () Trident laser and ultra-thin (∼100 nm) titanium foil targets. Numerical simulations show that the foils become transparent to the laser pulses, undergoing relativistically induced transparency (RIT), resulting in a two-stage acceleration process which lasts until ∼2 ps after the onset of RIT. Such long acceleration time in the self-generated electric fields in the expanding plasma enables the formation of the quasi-monoenergetic peaks. This work contributes to the better understanding of the acceleration of heavier ions in the RIT regime, towards the development of next generation laser-based ion accelerators for various applications.

A Flexible Nafion Coated Enzyme‐free Glucose Sensor Based on Au‐dimpled Ti Structures

AbstractThe detection of glucose at low concentrations using electrochemical sensors is of great importance due to the possibility of using different human body fluids than blood, such as e. g. urine, saliva, sweat or tears. The interest behind those biofluids is related to their utility in non‐invasive sugar determination. In this work, we present flexible, fully biocompatible electrode material based on Au nanoparticles immobilized onto titanium dimples. Au−Ti heterostructures were obtained via electrochemical anodization of titanium foil in presence of fluoride anions followed by chemical etching, magnetron sputtering of gold and subsequent thermal dewetting in continuous regime. In the last step of fabrication, electrodes were modified by permselective Nafion membrane. The selection of the best electrode material among different configurations was carried out basing on the electrochemical activity in the contact with 5 mM glucose dissolved in neutral air‐saturated 0.1 M PBS. For the 10 nm Au dewetted gold film, limit of detection of 30 μM and high sensitivity of 93 mA cm−2 mM−1 were achieved. Application of Nafion membrane caused complete inhibition of the impact of various interference species onto the glucose detection. Good selectivity and repeatability combined with the resistance to prolonged mechanical stress suggest that prepared material can be used in non‐invasive glucose sensing.

Control of pore density on TiO2 nanostructure films: Effect of etchant quantity and anodic voltage

The spatial distribution of pores on a TiO2 nanotube film contribute to its specific surface area, which is a critical factor in applications such as photo-electrochemical water splitting. In this work, we show that while both anodization voltage and etchant quantity determine the TiO2 nanostructure pore density, the quantity of the etchant has a greater effect. We anodized titanium foil substrates, varying either voltage or etchant quantity. With higher voltage, the results show an increase in pore diameters which decreased nanotube density. However, with an increase in etchant quantity, the development of inter-pore voids that create tubular structures, resulted in a remarkable increase in pore density. The study shows that at low quantities of NH4F, the pore density is significantly reduced. Based on these findings, a mechanism of preparing Ti foil templates that could be used to develop spatially distributed nanotubes by multiple-step anodization in ethylene glycol-NH4F electrolytes is proposed.

Development of non-enzymatic cholesterol bio-sensor based on TiO2 nanotubes decorated with Cu2O nanoparticles

A novel amperometric non-enzymatic cholesterol biosensor based on Cu2O-TiO2 hybrid nanostructure has been studied. TiO2 nanotubes (TNTs) were synthesized via anodization of titanium (Ti) foils and subsequently decorated with Cu2O nanoparticles (NPs) using chemical bath deposition (CBD) method. Incorporation of Cu2O NPs on TNTs have resulted in the high electroactive surface area which enhanced the electron transfer rate at the surface of the electrode. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) and amperometric response of the fabricated electrode exhibited high catalytic activity towards the cholesterol oxidation. The hybrid electrode demonstrated 5-fold increase in the sensitivity (∼6034.04 μAmM−1 cm−2) compared to pristine with low detection limit (∼0.05 μM) and fast response time (3 s). Moreover, the real time analysis of the cholesterol in human blood serum offered favorable accuracy with reference to the commercially available cholesterol biosensors. This study shows potential application of Cu2O NPs decorated TNTs for the development of highly stable, reproducible, and selective biosensor.

Raman spectroscopic study of the influence of voltage-time on titania growth-fast anodized nanostructures

Many studies, focused in TiO2 nanotubes obtained by anodization, uses frequently a NH4F salt concentration from 0.3 – 0.5 wt% and the information about how voltage and time affects to nanotubes morphology, are valid for these concentration, moreover, this range induces a long time of anodized. TiO2 nanotubes were prepared by anodization process of a set of titanium foils in order to study the influence of time and voltage on the morphology of them. The anodization process consists of an organic media of ethylene glycol and 1.2 wt% of NH4F salts, voltage from 5 to 30 V for a time period from 1 to 6 hours, constant potential of 30 V for a time lapse from 10 to 360 minutes and 5 to 480 seconds. All anodized samples are rinsed and annealed to 400 °C by 3 hours to obtain an anatase crystalline structure. The morphological characterization was carried out by Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM) to verify the presence of the nanostructures: nanopores, nanotubes and nanograss, these nanostructures were identified to appear for a time period from 5 to 480 seconds, 10 to 60 minutes and 1 to 6 hours, respectively. The surface morphology, inner diameter and length of the nanotubes varied with the electrochemical anodization parameters. Raman spectroscopy was used for optical characterization in order to identify the changes in signal intensity and Eg mode Shift and it was observed that intensity suffers an increment and Eg mode suffers a blue shift as a thickness function.

Reconstruction of the alveolar buccal bone plate in compromised Fresh Socket using the anodized titanium foil technique

Reconstruction of the alveolar buccal bone plate in compromised Fresh Socket using the anodized titanium foil technique

Electrolyte Dependency on Ca2+ Insertion/Extraction Properties of V2O5

Recently, calcium ion batteries (CIBs) have been attracting attention as next-generation batteries because of their higher energy density, higher safety, lower costs and more abundant elements than lithium ion batteries (LIBs). On the other hand, CIBs have several problems impeding their progress. One critical issue is the development of a suitable organic electrolyte without a negative impact on the electrochemical properties of the electrode material. In our past study, we reported that the overvoltage decreased when water was added to the electrolyte1. One reason for the decrease of overvoltage is a change in the electrolyte structure such as the solvation structure and the degree of salt dissociation. In this study, we investigated the electrolyte structure with varied organic solvent species and salt concentration, and examined the electrolyte dependency on Ca2+ insertion and extraction properties of V2O5. We used Ca(TFSI)2 as the electrolyte salt, which was vacuum dried at 150℃ for 12h before use. For the organic solvents, EC: DMC (1:1 in vol.), EC: PC (1:1 in vol.), triglyme (G3) and acetonitrile (AN) were used. The concentration of electrolyte was adjusted to 0.2-0.5 molL-1.V2O5 nano-sheet synthesized by hydrothermal-assisted method2 was used as the working electrode. The electrode was prepared by mixing the synthesized V2O5, acetylene black and polyvinylidene difluoride dissolved in N-methyl-2pyrrolidinone with a weight ratio of 70:20:10, then coated onto a carbon coated titanium foil and vacuum dried at 120℃ overnight. A constant current discharge-charge experiment was performed at 0.05C-1C. The results of electrolyte structure analysis showed that the contact ion pair (CIP) decreased as the dipole moment of the organic solvent decreased except for G3. When G3 was used, it is considered that the solvent-separated ion pair (SSIP) was formed because of the small dipole moment of G3. Interestingly, a decrease in the amount of CIP due to the decrease of concentration was observed when using EC: DMC or EC: PC, but not when using G3 or AN. The results of the constant current discharge-charge experiment were strongly related to the amount of CIP. The coulombic efficiency tended to improve as the amount of CIP decreased except for using G3, in particular, a high coulombic efficiency of 95% was shown when using 0.3M Ca(TFSI)2/EC: DMC. As a factor of the instability of electrolyte when G3 was used, Ca2+(G3)TFSI- SSIP may also be reductively unstable as Ca2+TFSI- CIP. On the other hand, G3-based electrolyte showed the lowest overvoltage and the best rate performance. According to the surface analysis of the electrode after the test, the concentration of calcium in the surface film was less than that for other solvents. It suggests that the nature of the surface film may be related to a decrease in the overvoltage. When a solvent other than G3 was used, the overvoltage decreased as the amount of CIP decreased, and a relatively high rate performance was obtained for 0.3 molL-1 Ca(TFSI)2/EC: DMC, similar to the tendency of coulombic efficiency. Reference s : [1] Y. Murata et al., Electrochim. Acta 294 (2019) 210-216. [2] H. Song et al., J. Power Sources 294 (2015) 1-7.

Synthesis of rutile TiO2 nanowires by thermal oxidation of titanium in the presence of KOH and their ability to photoreduce Cr(VI) ions

Rutile TiO2 nanowires were fabricated by thermal oxidation of titanium foil in the presence of potassium hydroxide, KOH. The fabrication process consisted of two parts; first as to deposit and liquefy KOH into droplets, done at 400 °C for 10 min, followed by ramping the furnace to a desired oxidation temperature (500–800 °C) for oxide growth. The presence of KOH was found to be beneficial in the formation of “shells” that induced anisotropic TiO2 growth (hence nanowires were observed under scanning electron microscope) as oppose to compact, planar oxide. Nevertheless, there exist a temperature window in which the anisotropic growth can be achieved: 550–750 °C. Above or below this temperature range, the oxide is compact without any noticeable nanostructures. Within the temperature window, the nanowires grown were dense with length of 500–600 nm and diameter averaged at 50 nm. The TiO2 nanowires were then used as catalyst to reduce Cr(VI) to Cr(III) in aqueous solution at pH 2.10 mg/L of Cr(VI) was able to be reduced completely within 90 min under ultra violet (UV) irradiation on TiO2 nanowires fabricated at 750 °C.

Self-assembly of immobilized titanate films with different layers for heavy metal ions removal from wastewater: Synthesis, modeling and mechanism

In this work, a modified NAH method was developed to synthesize immobilized titanate films with different number of layers by conveniently changing hydrothermal duration. Stable trilayer titanate architectures were first obtained with the middle layer functioning as support for the splitting nanowires during synthesis. A series of characterization methods including SEM, XRD, XPS, TG, FTIR and BET analyses were used to evaluate the properties of these immobilized films. Based on a newly proposed area-based method, the performance of different synthesized films for simultaneous removal of Pb(II), Cu(II) and Cd(II) was systematically investigated and the results exhibited preferential and abundant adsorption of Pb(II) for all the immobilized materials. A multi-potential sorption (MPS) model which combined cation-exchanging and static adsorption was firstly established for modeling the sorption kinetics and the fitting results suggested that the proposed MPS model was precise and reliable. Furthermore, the monolayer adsorption model was utilized to fit the sorption isotherms, which revealed the orientation of adsorbates and endothermic physical interactions. The coordinating mechanisms were further confirmed with the receptor sites derived from deconvoluted XPS O 1s spectra as well as Na 1s spectra and the binding modes were clarified by FTIR and XPS. Finally, compared with traditional dispersive titanate powders, the synthesized titanate films were more convenient for separation and exhibited outstanding heavy metal elimination performance, which could be ascribed to the oriented titanate arrangement on the titanium foils. Overall, the low synthetic consumption, high sorption capacity, satisfying selectivity and convenient operation make the newly developed immobilized multilayer titanate films promising materials for the removal of heavy metal ions from wastewater.

The response function of Fujifilm BAS-TR imaging plates to laser-accelerated titanium ions.

Calibrated diagnostics for energetic particle detection allow for the systematic study of charged particle sources. The Fujifilm BAS-TR imaging plate (IP) is a reusable phosphorescent detector for radiation applications such as x-ray and particle beam detection. The BAS-TR IP has been absolutely calibrated to many low-Z (low proton number) ions, and extending these calibrations to the mid-Z regime is beneficial for the study of laser-driven ion sources. The Texas Petawatt Laser was used to generate energetic ions from a 100 nm titanium foil, and charge states Ti10+ through Ti12+, ranging from 6 to 27 MeV, were analyzed for calibration. A plastic detector of CR-39 with evenly placed slots was mounted in front of the IP to count the number of ions that correspond with the IP levels of photo-stimulated luminescence (PSL). A response curve was fitted to the data, yielding a model of the PSL signal vs ion energy. Comparisons to other published response curves are also presented, illustrating the trend of PSL/nucleon decreasing with increasing ion mass.

A multilayer superconducting tape of the Nb50Ti alloy obtained from a Cu/Nb/Ti composite with a solid phase

Aim: Creation of multilayer superconducting tape made of Nb-Ti alloy.&#x0D; Methods: Using the methods of diffusion welding and packet rolling, for two cycles the prototypes of a multilayer tape based on a superconducting Nb50%Ti alloy were made. Copper was used as a stabiliser of the superconducting state of the conductor. At the initial stage, a multilayer Nb-Ti pack was assembled from niobium and titanium foils. Copper stabilising layers were laid in the pack in the 2nd cycle of tape manufacturing. The mutual diffusion between the Nb- and Ti-layers took place generally at the expense of niobium diffusing into the layers of titanium, with the Nb-50%Ti alloy emerging in their place.&#x0D; Results: Measurements of the critical current Ic with a perpendicular and parallel orientation of the magnetic field relative to the plane of the layers in the composite showed large anisotropy of Ic, which was the result of the superconducting vortices fixing exclusively at the boundaries of the Nb-Ti-alloy and the Nb-solid solution. In general, the composite was capable of carrying large current in magnetic fields of 5-6 T without long-lasting low-temperature annealing for -phase deposition, which is necessary in the case of Nb-Ti alloy composites produced by the known technology.

Fabrication and performance test of biodegradable supercapacitor

ABSTRACTPower source plays an important role in keeping normal functions of biodegradable electronic devices. In this paper, we proposed a fabrication method of biodegradable supercapacitor (BSC), which can provide energy for portable and implantable medical electronics. The BSC has a sandwich-like symmetric structure, which was assembled layer by layer. The electrochemical performances of BSC were measured, including the cyclic voltammetry test, galvanostatic charge-discharge and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Titanium foil was used as a template to generate microstructure for polylactic acid (PLA) supporting substrate. The microstructure provided strong adhesion force for iron film in sputtering process. The nanoporous zinc oxide layer was prepared by evaporation-driven self-assembly technology on iron film. The nanoporous structure was in favour of ionic storage in charging-discharging process. About 60% of capacitance retention was achieved after 3000 times of cycling test. After connecting three BSC in series, a green LED pattern was lighted up immediately, indicating that the energy was stored in BSC device successfully. After immersing the BSC in DMEM, the BSC can be totally degraded gradually. This work provided a feasible scheme for developing biodegradable energy storage device, it also gave a possible avenue for powering biodegradable electronic devices.

Biocompatibility of Nanoscale Hydroxyapatite Coating on TiO2 Nanotubes.

In this study, a highly-ordered TiO2 nanotube array was successfully fabricated on the surface of a pure titanium foil using the anodization method, and a hydroxyapatite (HA) layer was electrochemically deposited on the vertically aligned titania (TiO2) nanotube array. The TiO2 nanotubes exhibited an inner diameter ranging from 44.5 to 136.8 nm, a wall thickness of 9.8 to 20 nm and a length of 1.25 to 3.94 µm, depending on the applied potential, and the anodization time and temperature. The TiO2 nanotubes provided a high number of nucleation sites for the HA precipitation during electrochemical deposition, resulting in the formation of a nanoscale HA layer with a particle size of about 50 nm. The bond strength between the HA coating and the nanotubular layer with an inner diameter of 136.8 nm was over 28.7 MPa, and the interlocking between the nanoscale HA and the TiO2 nanotubes may have been responsible for the high bond strength. The biocompatibility assessment was conducted on Ti foil with a composite coat of nanoscale HA and the TiO2 nanotube array by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) array with mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). The mesenchymal stem cells adhered to and spread onto the nanoscale HA layer with plenty of extending filopodia, indicating excellent biocompatibility of the HA coat, the composite coat of nanoscale HA and the TiO2 nanotube array. The findings suggest that the nanoscale HA coating on the TiO2 nanotube array might be a promising way to improve the bond strength and the compatibility of the HA layer.